Are pharmacists needed at private outpatient Haemodialysis centres?

Abstract

Haemodialysis is initiated in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, where patients spend about 3-4 hours, 3 times/week, attached to a dialysis machine. At private outpatient haemodialysis centres (POHC), patients are managed by trained-nurses. However, dialysis patients often have comorbidities and taking on average 10-12 medications/day, whereby it can be challenging for nurses to monitor medication adherence and verifying prescriptions. Furthermore, nurses are mostly occupied with the daily dialysis-related process. Renal pharmacists are involved in the healthcare team at Malaysia government-haemodialysis centres. However, the centres are overrun with a great number of patients, hence create a demand at POHC. Expanding the roles of pharmacists in POHC may be required to improve dialysis care. A study was conducted to identify nurses' view and knowledge on this matter. A descriptive cross-sectional study among nurses at POHC in Kuantan was piloted. Nurses were provided a guided-self-administered questionnaire, which has four sections; sociodemographic, knowledge, perception, and expectation. Data analysis was done using SPSS V.21. Sixty-three (N=63) nurses participated in this study. Findings showed that 52.4% had "adequate knowledge" on the potential roles of a pharmacist in POHC. Most nurses (84%) "agreed/strongly agreed" that pharmacists are reliable as the source for pharmaceutical care issues. At least 50.8% expected pharmacists to resolve drug-related problems at POHC. This study found that the nurses showed an adequate level of knowledge, perception, and expectation on the potential roles of pharmacists in POHC. Most of them had a positive perception on pharmacists in expanding pharmaceutical services in the centres.